


the end of the line

by constellationsofsentences



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Everyone is probably OOC sorry ://, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), also gamora is also in the soul stone bc she was killed by it, hah i love MISERY, obligatory thorbruce cameo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-08 08:07:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15239070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/constellationsofsentences/pseuds/constellationsofsentences
Summary: Peter wakes up to screaming. There are people everywhere. Animals, too, and aliens. He panics. The throng does too. He can hear a woman calling for her daughter, he can hear babies crying. All he can think is that theyfailed, and now half the universe is dead. Half the universe, and him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is jsut a drabble bc im sad. enjoy!

Peter wakes up to screaming. There are people everywhere. Animals, too, and aliens. He panics. The throng does too. He can hear a woman calling for her daughter, he can hear babies crying. All he can think is that they _failed_ , and now half the universe is dead. Half the universe, and him.

 

He spots Drax first. He’s standing next to an old woman, who’s crying. The alien looks to shocked to comfort her. Peter can’t imagine he’d be any good at it, anyway. Then, not too far off, he notices the Falcon, holding a little girl who’s bawling for her cousin. Peter stares. For a brief moment, the Falcon looks up, and nods at him. There are tear tracks lining his eyes. Peter winces. He looks away.

 

Then he sees Liz, and everything collapses. She’s standing off to the side, looking lost. A boy he doesn’t know is holding her hand. She starts when she notices him, and approaches.

“Peter,” she whispers, “what’s happening?”

Her boyfriend’s eyes widen when he sees the suit, but he says nothing.

Truthfully, Peter replies, “I don’t know. I think we’re dead.”

Liz nods, and he can see her jaw working. “I– how?”

Peter can’t answer. Instead, he starts to cry.

 

There’s a green alien, standing alone at the edge of the enormous crowd. She, too, is crying. Peter sees the way Mr. Drax’s eyes light up softly when he sees her.

“Gamora!” he calls. Her head jerks up, and the tension leaks from her body. Peter watches as she approaches. “Gamora, you’re here. How?”

She murmurs something to him, before something knocks him over. Peter begins to rush over, to help, but the alien just laughs, sadly. “You too, huh?” he says to the thing that knocked him over. It looks like some kind of sentient tree, but young and small. It winds itself around the green lady’s leg.

“I am Groot?” it says. Gamora looks mournful.

“I don’t know, kid,” she says. “I hope he’s okay.”

Peter doesn’t know who he’s talking about, but he hopes they're okay.

 

The Scarlet Witch approaches him as he watches them huddle together. She’s followed by a man with a metal arm, who Peter remembers fighting in Berlin.

“Ms Witch, ma’am. And, uh, Mr. Winter Soldier, sir,” he says, “hi.”

The Winter Soldier flinches at his name. “Just, uh, call me Bucky.”

“Oh, sorry, Mr Bucky,” Peter says. Scarlet Witch gazes at him. She’s imposing, and so is her companion.

“You’re the Spider, no?” she says. He nods, sheepish, not wanting to correct the name. “You are very young. I am sorry.”

“For what?”

“For letting this happen to you.”

Peter jolts. “Uh, Ms Witch, ma’am, I’m fine, really. I–“

Her gaze is fond, now. Mr. Bucky looks uncomfortable, but not unkind. He says, “Kid, you’re dead. You don’t have to be strong.”

For the second time, Peter lets the tears fall.

 

Suddenly, a man bursts through the throng. _Starlord_ , Peter thinks. The green woman who was with Drax cries out. The collide, and the sorrow that surrounds them is overwhelming.

“You were dead,” he says.

“I still am.”

“I guess I am too,” he mutters.

They hug for what seems like years.

 

He drowns in the desperation everyone here exudes. The King of Wakanda sits down next to him, and tells him of his sister.

T’Challa says, “She is a tyrant. But of the good kind. Smart. Mischievous.”

Peter says, “I’d like to meet her.”

“She would like you,” says the king, appreciatively.

 

Peter thinks of Aunt May, of her hugs, and her jokes. What he would give to be watching her dance awfully in their apartment. He thinks of Ned, and his heart aches. He misses the familiar notes of the Star Wars theme, misses their movie nights and their jokes and their complicated handshakes. Peter thinks of MJ, and keeps hoping that one day she’ll draw him in distress again.

 

“They will free us. Then we will see them again,” murmurs T’Challa.

 _Mr Stark can do it_ , Peter thinks, but it’s more of a prayer than a statement.

 

He has to get Mantis to put him to sleep every night.

 

On the third day (or what he assumes is the third day. Time doesn’t function properly when you’re dead), Peter finds Dr. Strange sitting crosslegged on the ground.

“Sorry, kid,” he says without looking up. “It’s not working. I don’t have the stone, and my magic–“

Peter nods. He understands.

 

One night, he comes across a girl sitting alone, holding a tiny Thomas the Tank Engine train. She turns to him.

“It’s okay,” she says. “My daddy will save us.”

“Oh?” Peter says, quietly. He does not know this kid, but she looks up at him earnestly.

“Yeah.” She switches to a whisper. “ _He’s the Ant-Man._ ”

Peter almost laughs, but contains it. “Really?” he says instead. “That’s very cool.”

She nods, solemn. “One time, he fought a crazy wasp on my train set!”

“No way!”

“Yes!” She’s quiet for a long time, staring at the toy in her hands. “I miss him,” she murmurs, after a while. “I want to go home.”

Peter breaks, even though he doesn’t show it. He just holds her and lets her go to sleep in his arms, before her mother appears with a cry of “Cassie! Oh, my god, Cassie!”

She thanks him desperately, and Peter smiles tentatively. “It’s not a problem, ma’am,” he says.

It is. This whole thing is awful, and Peter doesn’t know what to do.

 

Peter doesn’t know how long it’s been. Days, maybe. Weeks, years. Time has blended into a cycle of loss. He’s standing with Liz, one day. They don’t talk. Peter hasn’t had anything to say for a while, now, but she holds his hand comfortingly. Until her hand isn’t there any longer. Until she’s disintegrating, and Jason, her boyfriend, is running to her, but his legs are gone and people are screaming and Peter doesn’t know what to say or what to do as he watches Gamora lose Quill _again_. And suddenly his legs are numb. And he knows what’s happening. So he closes his eyes and imagines that Aunt May is wishing him goodnight.

 

Peter wakes up to laughing. It’s relieved, and desperate. He sees Mantis standing up ( _alive! alive!)_ and there’s Drax and he’s laughing and it’s booming. Peter starts to cry as Karen hums awake in his ear. Dr Strange sits on a piece of wreckage and almost smiles.

“They did it,” he says. “They did it.”

 

They did it. _He’s alive._

 

Now they just have to get back to Earth.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The return and the recovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I COULDN'T LEAVE IT SO SAD so i had to write this chapter. there is angst but there's also peterned which makes everything better lol.

They have to repair the ship, first. It takes a few days. Quill mutters about raccoons and gods (‘Ditch me for a God-Pirate? Fine! I’ll fix the ship myself!’), in between worrying about Gamora, which perplexes Peter and makes Drax and Mantis laugh. Dr Strange’s cape hovers by Peter, inspecting him for injuries.

“How did they do it?” the boy asks. Dr Strange only smiles.

The cloak shifts a bit in what may be a laugh. If cloaks can laugh, that is. Frankly, Peter wouldn’t be surprised.

He wonders what’s happening on Earth. He hopes that everything is fine, and that the planet has not exploded. He imagines tears, lots of them. He didn’t see Aunt May in the weeks (months? years?) they were trapped in the field. She must not have been dusted, but he doesn’t know if she’s alive. _Anything_ could have happened: her building could have been destroyed, the weird Squidward-looking guy could have killed her. Or she could be sitting in their apartment, waiting for him to get home. Peter holds onto that hope desperately.

He tries to help with the ship, although he doesn’t fully understand the alien tech. The Other Peter tells him that it’s okay, that he’s got Drax and Mantis to help, and Dr. Strange, when he’s bothered. Mantis nods vigorously.

Drax says, “You are very puny, young one. It is fine.”

Peter says, “I’m a fast learner.”

Big Peter shrugs, and tells him to help Drax with the wiring. It’s long and tiring work. Peter’s fingers are sore and his back aches, but he keeps going. He imagines going home, seeing May and Ned and even MJ. He imagines them hugging, and shaking, and laughing. He keeps adjusting the wires.

Eventually, they’re done. Big Peter claps him on the back, saying, “Well done, kid.”

Peter smiles. They shuffle onto the ship to sleep.

  


They don’t know where Gamora is. It’s impossible to tell if she even came back, because she wasn’t dusted in the first place. Quill convulses with nightmares on the first night, so Mantis has to help him sleep.

Quill says, “Mantis, I’m fine. You sleep.”

Mantis tells him off, and says, “We need you to pilot this ship. I can sleep tomorrow.”

Peter gets the nightmares, too, but he says nothing. Quill’s are probably worse, and he doesn’t want to drag Mantis away from him. He turns to his right. Draw is lying flat on his back, unmoving. His eyes are open. He doesn’t notice Peter looking, even as Peter sees the tears lining his eyes. He shivers, feeling as though he’s invading something wildly personal. He turns onto his other side and tries to go back to sleep.

  


He dreams of Ned, and it’s a good dream. He sees them sitting on Peter’s bed, laughing. The Force Awakens is playing on a laptop which is perched on Ned’s knees. Peter lays his head on Ned’s shoulder.

“I missed you,” Dream-Ned says. He turns his head so his mouth is in Peter’s hair. Peter reaches for his hand.

“I’m sorry,” Peter says. “I love you.”

On the screen, Han Solo dies. Ned turns the volume down.

“This part always gets me,” he whispers.

“Yeah, me too.”

Dream-Ned sits up. Peter lifts his head and watches him. Ned’s eyes are full of something he can’t identify. “By the way,” he says, voice soft, “I do. I love you, too.”

Peter wakes up, and he’s crying. He’s not sure if the tears are happy or sad.

  


They do some final checks to make sure there isn’t any damage. Big Peter starts talking about finding Gamora. Dr Strange watches him with an unreadable expression.

He says, “We’ll find her. But Earth is where we need to be right now.”

Big Peter says, “How do _you_ know? I don’t– _I’m_ the one who lost her! I–I–Fuck you, man!”

He storms off. Mantis starts to go after him, but Drax shakes his head. It’s almost imperceptible.

“I want to find her,” she whispers. Sometimes, Peter regrets his super-hearing. He’s always accidentally eavesdropping. It makes him feel intrusive and uncomfortable.

“We will,” replies her companion. “But I think the caped man is right. She could be anywhere in the Galaxy. Finding someone who knows where she is: that’s what is necessary right now. Starting with Terra, because these–these humans have family, too.”

Mantis takes his arm, and starts to cry. “I am sorry,” she says. Her antennae droop.

“Do not be,” he mutters. They sit there for a moment, tears silently dripping from Mantis’ face, her hand on his shoulder.

Eventually, they go and find Quill. They’re gone for an hour, voices muttering quietly.

Dr Strange says nothing when Quill returns and punches in Earth’s coordinates.

  


It takes barely an hour for them to return. The ship is far better than it looks.

In an attempt to cheer Quill up, Peter voices this.

“Well, little Peter,” he says, “it _is_ my ship. Of course it’s amazing.”

Mantis shoots him a grateful smile. For what, Peter’s not sure. He’s not done much.

  


When Earth appears in the window, Peter nearly shouts with glee. It hasn’t exploded, at least.

“Where do we–where should we land?” he asks the room in general. Nobody replies.

“I–I’ve never been anywhere on this planet but Missouri,” says Big Peter. “I don’t know where anything is.”

Dr Strange looks thoughtful. Finally, he says, “Wakanda. We land in Wakanda.”

Peter nods. For a moment, he starts to fly downwards.

“Wait,” he says, suddenly. “Where _is_ that?”

  


They have to wait for someone to okay their ship before they land in Wakanda. It takes a while, but it happens. Somebody must be here that knows the Guardians, then. Peter feels his heart refill with hope. He watches as land approaches, and wonders. He’d heard about Wakanda on the news, he’d _met_ the king, but being there was completely different. It’s his technology dreamscape. He laughs a little when Drax expresses his admiration of how advanced Terrans are.

Peter laughs. “Nah. That’s just here. Everywhere else is far more, uh…” He searches for a word.

“Backwards?” offers the Other Peter.

“Yeah, I guess.”

They land in front of what must be the palace. Several people are waiting for them, including a raccoon standing on its hind legs and their sentient tree-friend–Groot. Drax shouts with joy. Mantis grins widely. Peter cheers. Even Dr Strange looks relieved.

  


Soon enough, the door is opened. Groot runs at Drax, who catches him in his arms. “Hello, little friend,” he says. “And hello, Rocket.”

Rocket grins. They all return it.

It takes only a minute for the mood to drop. Groot says, “I am Groot?”

Rocket looks stricken. Peter shakes his head. “We don’t–we don’t know where she was, when… she wasn’t–we don’t even know if she came back,” he murmurs. Groot shakes until Drax lets him down.

“I am Groot,” he murmurs. Peter looks away, because this is unbearable. He walks with the Doctor towards the other people who have appeared. The Captain, and War Machine, and Scarlet Witch file out of the door. And then comes Mr. Stark. The noise his mentor makes when he sees Peter is unbearable.

“Kid,” he says, chokingly. Peter starts to run without thinking about it.

“Mr. Stark!”

It’s the first time he’s ever hugged Mr. Stark properly. He feels something wet on his shoulder, but doesn’t comment.

“You’re okay. Oh, God, kid. You’re so grounded, you’re not leaving your apartment until _college_.”

 _Oh._ “My aunt,” he says, “is she–?”

“She’s fine,” Tony says, releasing him. “Her, and that little friend of yours–Ted, Ned, I don’t know, they’re safe. I made sure.”

Peter can’t find the words to express his thanks. Tony claps him on the back. “It’s okay. We got you.”

He looks to where Dr. Strange is whispering with War Machine. “That guy, he saved us. He sent the Time Stone forward, when Bruce first warned us of Thanos. We used it to–to stop him. You’re safe–you weren’t ever really dead, just trapped in the soul stone.”

“Really?” Peter asks.

“Yeah, kid. You’re alive. You’re fine.”

  


He’s stuck in Wakanda for two days, for Medical Exam after Medical Exam. He meets T’Challa’s little sister, the one he said was a genius tyrant. Shuri’s the most awesome person Peter’s ever met. She shows him her tech, which is beyond insane, and then she ropes him into pranking Thor, which goes as well as one would expect. Which is to say, they get to Thor’s rooms to set it up, and accidentally walk in on him making out with the Hulk. Peter goes bright red and mutters apology after apology. Shuri laughs in his face, and orders another Medical Exam so he can’t go home and avoid the embarrassment of ever seeing either of them again.

  


He calls May, on the first night. She cries. So does he. Hearing her voice again is the best feeling in the world.

“I’m coming home,” he says, “I promise.”

She says, “You’d better. You’re grounded for the next century.”

He laughs. “I missed you,” he says, “so much.”

“Me too. Don’t ever do that to me again.”

  


On the day he’s finally cleared to go home, he goes round and says goodbye to everyone. The Scarlet Witch hugs him hard and tells him to believe in himself. Bucky Barnes claps him on the shoulder.

He says, “You’re strong, kid.”

Peter turns red. Thor shakes his hand firmly and Bruce Banner tells him to swing by the labs so he can show him some of his experiments. Peter almost faints with joy. Mr. Rhodes says Peter is too young for hero-ing but tells him he’s a good kid anyway. Shuri high-fives him and T’Challa calls him brave. Even the Black Widow smiles at him when he wishes her goodbye.

He says goodbye to the Guardians last. They’re sitting together discussing which planet Gamora could be on. Each wish him goodbye and smile at him gently.

“Bye, little Peter,” says Big Peter. “Keep doing what you’re doing.”

“I will,” he whispers.

Dr Strange vanished days ago, so Peter doesn’t go to find him. Instead, he climbs onto the plane. Happy is sitting there, smiling. Peter isn’t sure he’s ever seen Happy smile before. He feels as though he’s flying. He actually is flying. He’s coming _home._ The thought bubbles through him until he’s giddy with it. He is fat with the excitement, though he says little. He watches the window, each second bringing him closer to home. It’s a Wakandan plane, which means it’s faster than most, but it still feels like the time is trickling by. Impatience begins to replace the excitement, until Peter has to start a conversation with Happy to keep himself distracted.

  


And then finally, _finally_ , the car pulls up outside his building. Everything looks so normal, as if nothing had ever happened. He passes into the tiny lobby, and ascends the stairs at a run. He knocks. The door opens. He falls into May’s arms. _He’s home._

  


May grounds him into the next century. (“Climbing onto a random spaceship without telling me? I thought I raised you better than that!”) MJ laughs at him.

She says, “You’re a loser, but life is much less interesting without you,” which makes Peter smile so hard his cheeks ache. Ned hugs him harder than he’d ever been hugged before.

“I thought you weren’t going to come back,” he murmurs.

“Hey,” Peter says, “I’m here. I’m back.”

“I’m never letting you leave a field trip to fight aliens again,” is his response. Peter laughs. He feels so impossibly tired, and lost. They all sink onto the couch. The first channel that shows up is the news. May makes to change it, but Peter shakes his head. The anchor is talking over a video of a spaceship landing in Wakanda. As she disappears, the footage expands to show the door opening slowly, and an alien approaching. Peter can’t shake the grin that spreads across his face as Gamora descends from her ship. _She’s back_. The Other Peter runs into the shot, and they embrace, before the footage cuts away. He sends a text to Tony. _Tell Gamora hey from me._

Mr Stark doesn’t reply, but Peter knows he’s seen it. He sinks back and lets his aunt choose some terrible rom-com for them to watch.

  


Ned stays the night. They stay up, neither of them wanting to sleep. Peter can’t shake the feeling that if he sleeps, he’ll wake up back on Titan, or back in the stone, alone again. So they stay up, watching the Star Wars sequel trilogy and whispering. They perch the laptop on Ned’s knees. Peter lays his head on Ned’s shoulder, and smiles softly.

“I missed you,” Ned says. He turns his head so his mouth is in Peter’s hair. Peter reaches for his hand.

“I’m sorry,” Peter says. “I love you.”

On the screen, Han Solo dies. Ned turns the volume down.

“This part always gets me,” he whispers.

“Yeah, me too.”

Ned sits up. Peter lifts his head and watches him. Ned’s eyes are full of something he can’t identify. “By the way,” he says, voice soft, “I do. I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also!!!! It doesn’t say in the chapter but Nebula was the one in my mind who a) killed Thanos and b) went to find Gamora which is why she’s not in the chapter lol

**Author's Note:**

> im sorry. 
> 
> the tumblr: [@lamegfx](http://lamegfx.tumblr.com)


End file.
